Tag Archives: Eagle Ford

A surge in production in the Permian Basin of west Texas—-already the nation’s highest producing oilfield — is extracting more crude oil than refiners in Texas can handle. But now, producers in the Permian have new outlets for that oil with economic implications hundreds of miles away from the flatlands of west Texas.Based on crude oil export projections, port officials say they expect to add 5000 direct and indirect jobs in 2017. “This is not a bubble, this is real growth,” said vessel traffic controller Mike Stineman, as he scanned real time navigation charts indicating vessel traffic at the port. Radio chatter between vessels, the Coast Guard and the Vessel Control Center provided a non-stop soundtrack of the the pulse of the port.A longtime ban on U.S. crude exports was lifted last year. And today, the port of Corpus Christi is positioning itself to become America’s main energy export hub. Stineman said it is simplistic to say the lifting of the ban, ushered in as the Obama administration ended, is solely responsible for increased shipping activity at the the port. Increased demand in Mexico for US energy is also in play. Corpus Christi is an established refining center, and the largest natural gas liquefaction plant in the U.S. is slated to be built here. However, Stineman said the lifting of the ban is stimulating significant activity at the port.

Houston, 15 May (Argus) — US shale crude output is expected to rise by 122,000 b/d to 5.4mn b/d next month, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).The largest increases will be in the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico, and the Eagle Ford in south Texas, the EIA said in its latest Drilling Productivity Report.Permian basin production should increase by 71,000 b/d from May to June to about 2.49mn b/d.Output in the top-producing Permian has been more resilient than in other regions during the downturn in commodity prices because of lower extraction costs. Midstream companies are investing heavily to add takeaway capacity out of the region because of the expected rise in output.Eagle Ford oil production is expected to rise by 36,000 b/d to about 1.28mn b/d in June.

EOG posted a profit for the first quarter of the year, accomplishing a relatively rare feat in the shale patch. Given its reputation as a top operator it was expected.

Its Eagle ford acreage, which helped earn its reputation, is now showing signs of deterioration in terms of quality as the Eastern part is saturated, while Western part is inferior.

EOG is working to move away from over-dependence on Eagle Ford, increasing presence in currently popular areas like the Delaware basin. It remains to be seen whether it will help.

This was not unexpected, given that other companies involved in shale announced an operating profit for the first quarter of the year. One such company that I just covered was Chesapeake (NYSE:CHK), which is generally not thought of as one of the best in the shale patch. The fact that EOG (NYSE:EOG), which developed a reputation in the shale patch as one of the best, announced a profit did not surprise me. If there is anything to be surprised of here is the fact that the operating profit was only $108 million on revenue of $2.6 billion. Chesapeake by comparison had an operating profit that was double, on similar revenue, as I pointed out in a recent article.

WildHorse Resource Development is acquiring Eagle Ford properties for US$625 million. The assets, comprising 111,000 net acres (449 square km), are being purchased from Anadarko Petroleum and affiliates of private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.In 2016, fourth-quarter net production on the acquired properties totalled 7,583 boepd, comprising 72% oil from 386 operated wells. The assets are located in Texas’ Burleson, Brazos, Lee, Milam, Robertson and Washington counties, adjacent to WildHorse’s existing acreage position. The transaction is expected to close on or around June 30, 2017 with an effective date of January 1, 2017.The Houston-based firm said that production on the purchased acreage came from 68 Eagle Ford, 299 Austin Chalk, and 19 Buda-Georgetown operated wells. The acreage is estimated to contain 949 net Eagle Ford locations and 22.9 million boe of proven developed producing reserves, consisting of 73% oil and 88% liquids.“This transformative acquisition presented us with a strategic opportunity to consolidate our acreage position. With a total of 385,000 net acres [1,558 square km], we have built a premier contiguous acreage base, making us the second largest operator in the entire Eagle Ford trend,” said WildHorse’s chairman and CEO, Jay Graham.

Two new crude pipeline projects from West Texas’ prolific Permian Basin to the Corpus Christi coastline have analysts crowing about refinery and export expansion in that city. The Houston-based pipeline company Buckeye Partners has proposed a 400,000 barrel-per-day line from Wink and Midland to existing facilities in Corpus.And a three-company consortium — TexStar Midstream Logistics, based in San Antonio, Castleton Commodities International, out of Connecticut, and Dallas-based Ironwood Midstream Energy — have proposed a new 590,000 barrel-per-day pipeline from Orla, Pecos, Crane, and Midland to Corpus, with a stop in Gardendale in the Eagle Ford oil field. Both projects aim to open for business in 2019.

From the moment it began, you could tell something was missing from Exxon Mobil Corp.’s first strategy presentation under its new CEO: Texan Rex Tillerson’s usual jab at New York City, where the event is held.His successor at the helm, Darren Woods, kept many other things the same. There was the usual emphasis on superior performance and the benefits of integration and a relatively humdrum Q&A session.For all the continuity, though, Woods signaled some big shifts in where this supertanker is going.First, although capital expenditure is set to increase this year, Exxon appears to have partly embraced the idea that big budget projections are taboo with investors these days, aiming to hold spending at around $25 billion a year through 2020. That’s up from 2016’s $19.3 billion — which was very low — but still notably below the $30 billion-plus levels of 2011 to 2014, which eroded Exxon’s return on capital and dimmed its reputation for discipline.

The Sierra Club filed a motion to oppose a $1.5 billion pipeline by Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE) to deliver natural gas from the Eagle Ford Shale to customers in Mexico.Just a few hours ahead of a Dec. 23 deadline for public comment, Sierra Club attorney Nathan Matthews filed a motion to intervene with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to oppose the Valley Crossing Pipeline.

A Houston company is looking to pump $500 million into South Texas to create the largest new refinery in the U.S. in nearly 40 years.The facility — located in the southwest corner of Duval County off of Texas Highway 359 — will be able to process up to 50,000 barrels of Eagle Ford shale light crude oil a day, and will have up to 4 million barrels of available storage, the company said in a news release.

An ambitious $20 billion project to build a 137-mile pipeline and a liquefied natural gas export terminal in deep South Texas has taken the next step forward.NextDecade LLC has filed its official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday. The Woodlands-based company is seeking to build the Rio Bravo Pipeline and the Rio Grande LNG export terminal in the Port of Brownsville.